Mail-catcher.



C. C. JONES.

v MAIL CATCHER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 11. I916.

Patented 00. 23,1917. 1- I 2 SHEETS SHEET I.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY C. C. JONES. MAIL CATCHER.

' APPLlCATl0N.HLED lULY 1!.1916. 1,243,945. Patented Oct. 23,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

M v H "A rm 2 I l 1 l6 23 6/ WITNESSES ATTOR N EY ofiAnLEw c. Jonesor onnlan VALE, KAn'sAs;

MAIIQQCATCHER.

' Application mainly 11, 1916." Serial ml 108,595.;

gg gga s ec men of Letters Patent;

1 h all wh om it c mm a Beat known that 1,. CnnRLn YQ. Joiins, ail-cit zen of the United-States, residingat Cedar 'Vale, i nthe county of Chaut a uqua and v State oil Kansas,- have inventedi certain ,new

d-insti mpr v m s n- M'iiL-Q'at s: of whichvtheefollowing isna specification --This :invention relates to mail bag-transfer-ring devices, and aims-primarily to sirnplifyyand lncrease .theefliclency of devices f.1;hi eharacteny A- further object i at v V to:

provide a device adapted to be used upon ranged in such manner as to I thebag 1n the transferrlngy operatlon, whereby loss-rot thesacks -1s obv -ated. i 4

,stillfifurther obj ect er theiinventionis to provide a, device ofthis'character and for; the, .purposeslsetzidflh which is of {siniplea construction, which; is composed of but few inexpensiverandreadily assembled parts, -all so constructed and arranged as "to pre-' vent wear, -breakagei.or derangement of the same,wh1oh v-iscapable. ofbelng moved when not in use to occupy butl small spacey and; which will prove thoroughly efficientin-the attainment of the ends for which it is designed.

1 With these ew, together others which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides, in :the novel formation, combi-natiom-sand arrangement of parts, all .as- .will u be described more 1 fully hereinafter, illustratedwin thevdrawings, and particularly pointed out -in-ithe claims The inventionwill bebest understood referenceto the accompanying drawings,

wherein; 7 Fl gure l s-l asisectlonal plan view ofwa,

mail bag collecting (device, the same being shown in. the position it would assume 7 when 1* ready to engage and grab; a bag a c 45 Fig. 2 is a longitudinal verticalseetional view -taken substantially .upon the line -:2.2

f :Fig. j 3 .is a fragmentary sectional viewtaken; through the --1; ofthe baggrabbingends; I 1

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a mechanism for Patented ea: 23, 1 917;

supporting a be delivered a bags may be; interchanged 'The invention also comprehends an improved. means for, properly supporting the sacks, either upon a car .orbeside the track so that the opera;-

tio n -of thegrabbing means maybe facili' side elevation of what is s own tatedg-ln the pi-esent in'stance, Ide scrib'e,

the catc'hing and holding mechanism as. used upon the-car only,';but it is, tobe understood that similar, devices are, arranged beside the track, whereby: interchanging lot the mail sacks'f is carriedounr. 1, a :2 Referring now inlore particularlyto .the: drawings, indicates a standard; which; is secured-adjacent the dOOIWELY-IOf a 'carupon a {suitable base- .11. Socketed within the standard 5 10 is a I rod 12, which carries an angular-1y: projectingarm 13; EheQupper. edge of the tubular standard -l0,is. provided withxa notched: portion 14 within 'whieh' is adapted toengage ardetent I5. The edges of thedetent and notched portion are roundedylas ishown in; Fig. i 4i of. the drawings, so that. the when vcontacted, will swing laterally sand the detent '15, will ride .upyand out of the notched portion 14:. The arm 13 is} (normally- ,held a projected laterally from thecarie 'The-arni-is also hinged as-atf 16 to permit of the same swingingzdownwardlyi adjacent-the standard when not in use. A

gsuy rod 517 connects: the freev end of the upper end of the rod l2. M: I

.A housing ls issecuredi to'the outerfeX- tremity fofthearm 13. Thishousing is relaf tively -jshallow; and is widened at its outer end as -shown. A-door 191is arranged in the housing-eta permit; of access being had to the-interiorthereoni i" Pivoted as at 20.;rto, they-oppositelateral sides=of the housing and adjacent the outer extremityf -thereo f, are grabber: armst21 These :ZLIJHS project 1 forthe greater portion oftheir, length beyond. the housing and their: inner ends are connected as, by links 22 to:

asplate 23- arranged at the rear; portion, of

thezhousing; Ai contractile-spring 24 is connected atjone end t0 the plate 23, and at ts 2 otherqend toiag'bolt orpin 25 ,extendingv through the arm 13 at the innermost end trigger,

thereof. The spring 24 extends within the hollow arm 13 and is adapted to draw inwardly upon a plate 23 and to rock the arms 21 toward each other at their outer ends.

A trigger 26 is pivoted as at 27 to the outer end of the housing and midway between the arms 21. The outer extremity o the trigger is provided with oppositely ex-' tending arcuate guide members 28', and the inner end of the trigger extends within the housing. Contractile springs29 connect'the inner end of the trigger at opposite points with the housing, the arrangement yieldably maintaining the trigger in axial alinement with the spring 24. A latch 30 is pivoted within the housing and adapted'to engage at one end with the inner extremity of the trigger, while the other end engages with a connecting rod 31 secured to the plate 23.

The extremities of the arms 21 are provided with spring clamps 32, the latter be-' ing adapted to engage with theextremities of the guide arms 28 when swung inwardly toward each other.

From this construction, it is apparent that when the device is set in the position indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, a bag engaging within the pocket formed at the juncture of one of the guide arms, with the its pivot 27 whereupon the latch 30 will be actuated to release the connecting rod 31, whereupon the plate 23 will, by operation of the spring 24, be retracted, drawing inwardlyupon the links 22, and rocking the arms 21 upon their pivots. The clamp members 32 at the extremities of the grabber arms 21 impinge with the arcuate arm extremities 28, whereupon the bag or sack will 'be held firmly between the grabber and.

trigger arms. The bag may be readily disengaged from its position by the mail clerk upon the car, whereupon the device may be readily reset to further operate. When'not "in use, the grabbing device may be swung downwardly upon its pivot or may be detached entirely from the tubular standard 10 and placed in a convenient position with in the car. The impact of a mail sack engaging and catching device, rocks the arm 13 and the standard 12, whereupon the de tent 15 rides out of the notched portion 14 and the grabbing device and bag are swung within the car in convenient position for handling by themail clerk.

In Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings, I have illustrated improved means for supporting,

a mail sack in position to be properly collected by the above described device. In

this embodiment of the invention, a post 25 is arranged beside the track, and which carriesspaced brackets 36 and 37 The up permostbracket 36 is provided with a lateral'ly extending slot 28, within which th wardly thereon,

, device w1ll will cause the latter to rock upon f. withthe lowermost bracket 37 and. is ca pable of swinging upwardly and downas shown. The outer ends of the arms 39 and 42 are provided With swinging hook members 44, over which rings 45 on a mail bag are adapted to engage. The springs 46 may be employed to normally hold the hook members 44 in proper position. From this construction,

it is apparent that a bag may be suspended properly between the crane arms, and when engaged by the above described collecting be readily detached therefrom. Immediately upon removal of the bag from the crane arms, the lowermost arm swings downwardly upon the bracket 27 while the spring 41 moves the inner end of the crane arm 39 in a downwarddirection, swinging the free end of the same upwardly through the slot 38;

From this construction, it is apparent that I have provided a very simpleand practical device for facilitating the interchanging of the mail bags. While the above is a description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is apparent that various changes in'the minor details of construc{ tion, combination, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, if desired, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the claims.

-What is claimed is 1. In a device of the class described, a standard, an arm on said standard, a housing on said arm, grabber arms pivoted at the extremities of said housing and 'capable of swinging together at their outer ends, a plate within said housing, a contrac tile spring within said arm connected to said plate, links connecting the inner ends of said grabber arms to said plate, 'a'connect ing rod secured to said plate and extending beyond the same, a latch for engagement with said rod to releasably hold the same'in outward position, and a trigger pivoted in said housing and projecting outwardly therefrom and adapted to actuate said latch to release said connecting rod, substantially as described. 9

2. In a device of the class described, a standard, an arm on said standard, a h0us-' ing onsaid arm, grabber arms pivoted in spaced relation upon said housing and adapted to swing toward each other at theirouter' extremities, a contractile spring in said arm, a plate connected to the outer end of said spring, links connecting said plate to the inner ends of said grabber arms, a connect ing rod secured at one end to said plate, a guide for said connect ng rod, a latch for holding said connecting rod at the limit of its outward movement against the tension of said spring, a trigger pivoted in said housing and extending beyond the latter arcuate arms at the outer end of said trigger, the inner end of said trigger being adapted to engage said latch to release the same from said connecting rod, and clamp members on the ends of said grabber arms for engagement with the extremities of said arcuate arms when swung inwardly, substantially' as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature 15 Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

